Pamela Denise McGee (born December 1, 1962) is an American former professional
women's basketball
Women's basketball is the team sport of basketball played by women. It began being played in 1892, one year after men's basketball, at Smith College in Massachusetts. It spread across the United States, in large part via women's college compet ...
player, 2012 Women's Basketball Hall of Famer, and mother of two professional basketball players. She is the first WNBA mom to have a son and daughter drafted in the NBA and the WNBA. She is the only Olympic Gold Medalist to give birth to an Olympian in basketball. Her son JaVale received a gold medal in the 2021 Olympics in Tokyo. This was 37 years after his mother won hers in the 1984 Olympics in Los Angeles California. This would be the first of many first in her illustrious Basketball career. A pioneer in Women’s Basketball is featured in a HBO documentary,”Women of Troy”.
Pamela McGee was the second overall pick in the
1997 WNBA draft
The 1997 WNBA draft was the inaugural draft held by the WNBA through which teams could select new players from a talent pool of college and professional women's basketball players. Unlike later drafts, this draft was unique because there were thr ...
. She played in the league for two seasons with the
Sacramento Monarchs
The Sacramento Monarchs were a basketball team based in Sacramento, California. They played in the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA) from 1997 until folding on November 20, 2009. They played their home games at ARCO Arena.
The Mona ...
and
Los Angeles Sparks
The Los Angeles Sparks (LA Sparks) are an American professional basketball team based in Los Angeles. The Sparks compete in the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA) as a member club of the league's Western Conference. The team was foun ...
.
McGee grew up in
Flint, Michigan
Flint is the largest city and seat of Genesee County, Michigan, United States. Located along the Flint River, northwest of Detroit, it is a principal city within the region known as Mid Michigan. At the 2020 census, Flint had a population of 8 ...
, where she attended
Flint Southwestern Academy
Flint Southwestern Academy (FSA, Southwestern Academy, or Flint Southwestern) is located in Flint, Michigan, United States. This school is a part of the Flint Community Schools.
In 1989 Flint Academy closed and the school merged with Southwest ...
before graduating from
Flint Northern High School
Flint Northern High School was a public secondary school located in Flint, Michigan. The original building "#1" was built in 1928 and demolished in the 1980s, after being the home of the Flint Academy. It was one of the high schools in the Flint ...
. At Northern Highschool she was both an Academic All American and won two back to back state championships in Women's Basketball and Women's Track. She set the state record in the Shot put in track and field. She was the MVP of the Parade All American game which hosted the top players in the nation.
McGee won back-to-back
NCAA Championships
The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) is a nonprofit organization that regulates student athletics among about 1,100 schools in the United States, Canada, and Puerto Rico. It also organizes the athletic programs of colleges an ...
University of Southern California
The University of Southern California (USC, SC, or Southern Cal) is a Private university, private research university in Los Angeles, California, United States. Founded in 1880 by Robert M. Widney, it is the oldest private research university in C ...
Cheryl Miller
Cheryl D. Miller (born January 3, 1964) is an American former basketball player. She was formerly a sideline reporter for NBA games on TNT Sports and also works for NBA TV as a reporter and analyst, having worked previously as a sportscaster fo ...
. In 1984, she won Olympic gold in
Los Angeles
Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...
before embarking on a professional career that included stints in
Brazil
Brazil ( pt, Brasil; ), officially the Federative Republic of Brazil (Portuguese: ), is the largest country in both South America and Latin America. At and with over 217 million people, Brazil is the world's fifth-largest country by area ...
,
France
France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...
,
Italy
Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical re ...
and
Spain
, image_flag = Bandera de España.svg
, image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg
, national_motto = ''Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond")
, national_anthem = (English: "Royal March")
, i ...
. She was inducted into the
Women's Basketball Hall of Fame
The Women's Basketball Hall of Fame honors those who have contributed to the sport of women's basketball. The Hall of Fame opened in 1999 in Knoxville, Tennessee, USA. It is the only facility of its kind dedicated to all levels of women's bask ...
in 2012.
She has been noted as one of the few women basketball players who has won on every level. Two State Championships in Michigan with a still standing record of 75-0 wins; She then won two National Championships at the University of Southern California in the eighties. That same year she graduated as student-athlete in 4 years with a BA in Economics and Social Science with an emphasis on Finance. That same year she was the first to win a Gold-Medal at the LA Olympics in Women's Basketball. She then won World Championships in Barcelona Spain, Brazilian World Championships, and the European Ronchetti Cup with 4-time WNBA MVP Cynthia Cooper.
Professional career
McGee started her professional career with the
Dallas Diamonds
The Dallas Diamonds was a women's professional American football team in the Women's Football Alliance (WFA). The Diamonds were made up of 46 players and a coaching staff of 10. The Diamonds won four national championships; the first three were ...
in the
Women's American Basketball Association
The Women's American Basketball Association (WABA) is a league that began in 2017 with seven teams. It now has over 20 teams across the country. Season 4 was cancelled in the face of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020. There have been previous women's ...
where she played alongside her sister Paula. She later played in Brazil, Spain and Italy and was a four-time Italian League All-Star. McGee was a first round draft pick in the inaugural season of the WNBA and played there for two seasons.
USA Basketball
McGee was selected to be a member of the team representing the US at the 1983 Pan American Games held in
Caracas, Venezuela
Caracas (, ), officially Santiago de León de Caracas, abbreviated as CCS, is the capital and largest city of Venezuela, and the center of the Metropolitan Region of Caracas (or Greater Caracas). Caracas is located along the Guaire River in the ...
. The team won all five games to earn the gold medal for the event. McGee averaged 3.4 points per game.
McGee played for the USA National team in the 1983 World Championships, held in
Sao Paulo, Brazil
SAO or Sao may refer to:
Places
* Sao civilisation, in Middle Africa from 6th century BC to 16th century AD
* Sao, a town in Boussé Department, Burkina Faso
* Saco Transportation Center (station code SAO), a train station in Saco, Maine, U.S. ...
. The team won six games, but lost two against the Soviet Union. In an opening round game, the USA team had a nine-point lead at halftime, but the Soviets came back to take the lead, and a final shot by the USA failed to drop, leaving the USSR team with a one-point victory 85–84. The USA team won their next four games, setting up the gold medal game against USSR. This game was also close, and was tied at 82 points each with six seconds to go in the game. The Soviets Elena Chausova received the inbounds pass and hit the game winning shot in the final seconds, giving the USSR team the gold medal with a score of 84–82. The USA team earned the silver medal. McGee averaged 4.2 points per game.
In 1984, the USA sent its national team to the 1984
William Jones Cup
The R. William Jones Cup (), also known as the Jones Cup, is an international basketball tournament organized by the Chinese Taipei Basketball Association (CTBA) held annually since 1977 in Taiwan.
It was named in honor of basketball promoter ...
competition in
Taipei, Taiwan
Taipei (), officially Taipei City, is the capital and a special municipality of the Republic of China (Taiwan). Located in Northern Taiwan, Taipei City is an enclave of the municipality of New Taipei City that sits about southwest of the ...
, for pre-Olympic practice. The team easily beat each of the eight teams they played, winning by an average of just under 50 points per game. McGee averaged 6.5 points per game.
She continued with the national team to represent the US at the 1984 Olympics. The team won all six games to claim the gold medal. McGee averaged 6.2 points per game.
Statistics
College statistics
Source
WNBA statistics
, -
, style="text-align:left;",
1997
File:1997 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The movie set of ''Titanic'', the highest-grossing movie in history at the time; ''Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone'', is published; Comet Hale-Bopp passes by Earth and becomes one of t ...
, style="text-align:left;",
Sacramento
)
, image_map = Sacramento County California Incorporated and Unincorporated areas Sacramento Highlighted.svg
, mapsize = 250x200px
, map_caption = Location within Sacramento ...
1998
1998 was designated as the ''International Year of the Ocean''.
Events January
* January 6 – The '' Lunar Prospector'' spacecraft is launched into orbit around the Moon, and later finds evidence for frozen water, in soil in permanently ...
, style="text-align:left;",
Los Angeles
Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...
Imani McGee-Stafford
Imani Trishawn McGee-Stafford (born October 11, 1994) is an American professional basketball player. She played college basketball for University of Texas at Austin.
College
In 2015, while at Texas, McGee-Stafford was awarded the Honda Inspira ...
and a son,
NBA
The National Basketball Association (NBA) is a professional basketball league in North America. The league is composed of 30 teams (29 in the United States and 1 in Canada) and is one of the major professional sports leagues in the United St ...
player and NBA champion JaVale McGee, currently with the
Dallas Mavericks
The Dallas Mavericks (often referred to as the Mavs) are an American professional basketball team based in Dallas. The Mavericks compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Western Conference (NBA), Western Conferenc ...
. McGee is the first WNBA player to have a child play in the NBA and WNBA. In 2012, she was inducted into the Women's Basketball Hall of Fame. She lives in
Annandale, Virginia
Annandale () is a census-designated place (CDP) in Fairfax County, Virginia.WNBA. She starred for the
Los Angeles Sparks
The Los Angeles Sparks (LA Sparks) are an American professional basketball team based in Los Angeles. The Sparks compete in the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA) as a member club of the league's Western Conference. The team was foun ...
and
Sacramento Monarchs
The Sacramento Monarchs were a basketball team based in Sacramento, California. They played in the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA) from 1997 until folding on November 20, 2009. They played their home games at ARCO Arena.
The Mona ...
.
JaVale McGee is the first son of a WNBA player to ever play in the NBA. McGee's husband George Montgomery was drafted to the NBA with the 35th pick in the
1985 NBA draft
The 1985 NBA Draft took place on June 18, 1985. It was also the first NBA draft of the "lottery" era. It was also around this time where the league decreased the amount of rounds the draft spent, with the previous few years lasting up to 10 roun ...
although he never played there. McGee, with a degree in economics, balanced her international basketball career with raising both children, home schooling, coaching and teaching school in the off season, though the formidable tasks were not without controversy.
In 2013, it was announced that McGee and her son JaVale would be starring in their own reality television show, '' Mom's Got Game''.
In 2021, her son JaVale won an Olympic gold medal for
USA Basketball
USA Basketball (USAB) is a non-profit organization and the governing body for basketball in the United States. The organization represents the United States in FIBA and the men's and women's national basketball teams in the United States Olympi ...
, making them the first mother-and-son duo to win Olympic gold.